Rubber floor mat



June 20, 1950 w, co so 2,512,310

RUBBER FLOOR MAT Filed Jan. 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

W/LL/fl/ q. coRsoA/ dtfornqg June 20, 1950 w. G. coRsoN 2,512,310

RUBBER FLOOR MAT Filed Jan. 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6"

INVENTOR. WILL/HM G- CORSON' Gfforngy Patented June 20, 1950 can-w STATES a NT "r. ice

RUBBER FLOQR MAT 7 William G. Corson. Akron, 'Ohio Applicaticn lanuary 28, 1949, Serial No..73,349.

trating. the resilient cushioning... action thereof upon. application. oiffootl pressure in use.

Figured is. atop perspective view of a modified form of floor mat' embodying. the features of the invention.-

Figure 5. is. a fragmentary top. plan view of another modified-form of floor mat;

Figure 6' is an enlarged fragmentary crosssection. taken substantially on the line B'6' of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a-view similarto Figure 6 illustrating application of foot pressure in the manner of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary toppl'an'view of still another modifiedformof floor matl Figure 9 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially on the line 9--9 o-f Figure 8-.-

Referring-particularly to the form ofa thezimproved fioor mat shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the numeral it designates a vulcanized rubber pad including a thin flexible web I l and spaced rib portions 32, I2 and l3, l3, integral with the web, coextending at opposite sides thereof. The spaced ribs of both sides are straight and extend in parallelism, and the ribs of opposite sides are in such staggered relation that the respective ribs of either side are substantially complemental to the spaces defined between adjacent pairs of ribs of the other side. The ribs [2 and I3 may have transverse cross-sections on the order of an involute gear tooth, and in efiect the adjacent opposite projections 52 and I3 are connected to each other by contiguous flexible portions of the web I I.

In use of the mat on a floor or other surface, as by a person standing on the same, pressure of a heel H, for example, will urge .a number of upper ribs l2 downwardly into spaces 13a defined by correspondingly adjacent pairs of bottom ribs I3,

substantially as shown in Figure 3. That is, said contiguous flexible web portions are sufiiciently thin whereby the top ribs in-the area subjected to said pressure of heel'l-I are yieldingly urged downwardly witl'iin thesubstantially complemental spaces l3aand into contact with said surface, against resilient flexing along the contiguous flexible web portions and the inherent tendency of the pad to resume the normal vulcanized condition thereof best shown in Figure 2.

In the form'ofth'e invention shown in Figure 4, the rib construction i's'substantially as described above, except that the complete mat'may include a series of integrally connected square sections M, i l, each having'oppositely disposed'series of spacedribportio'ns:WAS-and i6,- 15; corresponding to ribs I2 and"l3 the ribs of adjacent sections, howevenextending in different angular This mat directions with respectto each other. otherwise functions as before, and'like parts'have been given like numerals.

Referring now to Figures 5, 6 and'l, there is illust'rated a rubber floor'mat comprising a rela-- tively thin flexible pad' having closely spaced square recesses I1 H'- in an-upper facethereof, and having integral projections I8, It on the underside of the same.- The bottom faces of the projections l8 may berecessed as indicated at it'd, to provide maximum adhesionof the mat to a; surface by use ofa' vacuum principle, as Wellas toprovide' maximum foot-wiping action when the mat is reversed to present the projections ontop' thereof. The projections i8 arearranged directly opposite the respective-recesses I! and have outlines substantially complemental thereto, whereby. upon-application'offo'ot pressure, as shown at Hg in Figure 7, the projections 18 are relatively engaged or flexed within the complemental recesses forms of the improved floor mat, which are soft and yielding with respect to the weight of a person standing upon the same. This resiliency may be readily controlled in production by varying the thickness of the webs of the mats, or by varying the clearance between the complementally interengageable parts.

All forms of the mat are ideafly suited for use of persons such as bank tellers, for example, who must necessarily stand at one place for long periods of time. Each form of the invention described is adapted to be used with either side up.

Other modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A floor mat comprising a pad including a flexible web of resilient material and cooperating projections at opposite sides of the same, the projections of one said side of the web having opposed edge portions defining spaces therebetween and the projections of the other side of the web being complemental to said spaces, the complemental edge portions of said cooperating projections of said opposite sides of the web being connected by contiguous flexible portions of the web, said flexible web portions being of suflicient thinness whereby upon application of downward pressure to an area of the pad while the same is at rest on a surface said cooperating projections on opposite sides of the web at the pressure area will be yieldingly relatively urged toward each other in the plane of the pad against resilient flexing along said flexible web portions, the projections of said other side of the web thereby engaging to a substantial extent within said complemental spaces of said one side of the web.

2. A mat of the character described comprising a pad of rubber or like resilient material including a flexible web and cooperating projections at opposite sides of the same, the projections of one said side of the web having opposed edge portions defining spaces therebetween and the projections of the other side of the web being generally complemental to said spaces, the complemental edge portions of said cooperating projections at said opposite sides of the web being connected by contiguous flexible portions of the web, said flexible web portions being of suflicient thinness whereby upon application of pressure to an area of the pad while the same is at rest on a surface said cooperating projections on opposite sides of the web at the pressure area will be yieldingly relatively urged toward each other in the plane of the pad against resilient flexing along flexible said web portions, the projections of said other side of the web thereby engaging to a substantial extent within said complemental spaces of said one side of the web.

3. A floor mat comprising a pad of resilient material including elongated projections coextending at opposite sides of the same, adjacent projections of one side of the pad defining spaces therebetween and cooperating projections of the other side of the pad being substantially complemental to said spaces, complemental edge portions of said opposite cooperating projections being connected by contiguous flexible web portions of the pad, said contiguous flexible web portions being of said relative thinness whereby upon application of pressure to an area of the pad while the same is at rest on a surface the opposite cooperating projections at the pressure area will be yieldingly relatively urged toward each other in the plane of the pad against resilient flexing along said contiguous flexible web portions and the resiliency of the material of the pad, the projections of said other side of the pad thereby engaging within said complemental spaces.

4. A floor mat comprising a pad including a flexible web portion of resilient material, parallel rib portions on opposite top and bottom sides of said web, the rib portions on one side of said web being staggered with respect to the rib portions on the other side thereof, the oppositely adjacent ribs being connected to each other by contiguous flexible web portions of such thinness whereby upon application of pressure to an area of the pad while the same is at rest on a surface the ribs of said top side will be'yieldingly urged into the spaces between corresponding adjacent ribs of the bottom side against resilient flexing of said contiguous flexible web portions and the resiliency of the material of the pad.

5. A floor mat comprising a pad of flexible, resilient material, said pad having spaced recesses in one face thereof and the other side thereof having projections of outer outline complemental to the inner outline of the recesses, said projections being connected to the pad by contiguous flexible web portions of such thinness 40 whereby upon application of pressure to an area of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,019,212 Yates Mar. 5, 1912 1,215,235 Atwood Feb. 6, 1917 1,887,200 Hand Nov. 8, 1932 

